The Bachelor Recap: Child’s Play and a Trip Down Memory Lane

Hello, Bachelor lovers! We're Alyssa and Allison, unabashed Bachelor fans and your trusty rose recappers. This season, we'll be chronicling the romance, the drama and the endless stream of ugly cries. And while Ben, the wine-making cutie, hands out roses, we'll be giving out awards of our own: Each week, we'll choose the rose (our favorite), the thorn (the girl who makes us scream at our TVs, "Really, her?") and the one who got away (a lady who left too soon).

So here we go:

The rose: Kacie B, the bubbly administrative assistant from Tennessee, was one of our early favorites, and she scored the first date with Ben. They strolled around his hometown of Sonoma and watched home videos of each other growing up. Most couples don’t break out the awkward naked baby photos until much later in the relationship, but it was cute. Kacie seemed sweet, and they had good chemistry. Our only gripe about the date: Ben kept calling her “Kacie B.” If she is the only Kacie you’re making out with, then you don’t need to include her last initial.

Kacie B (Photo Credit: ABC)

We’re also giving early props to Jennifer, the redheaded accountant. She was one of 12 ladies on the group date, and one of the only ones who didn’t seem horrified by the prospect of interacting with children (they wrote a play for the ladies to perform in). She was a good sport about the whole thing and was rewarded with a Ben makeout session.

And the winner is: Kacie (Just Kacie. No B.)

The thorn: Our early prediction for the thorn went to Courtney, the 28-year-old model from Arizona. Her intimidation tactics and inflated ego won her very few friends among the ladies in the house, yet somehow she managed to secure a coveted one-on-one date with Bachelor Ben. While we half-expected Ben’s adorable dog to start barking the instant their date began, we were surprised to see that the more the evening progressed, the more she seemed, well–normal. There’s always next week.

Blakeley (Photo Credit: ABC)

A unanimous source of distain among the ladies came in the form of Blakeley, the 34-year-old cocktail waitress from North Carolina. Not only did she don a very not kid-friendly (or public-friendly, really) outfit for her children’s theatre group date with Ben, she also monopolized the Bachelor during cocktail hour, even after already receiving a rose. We understand all is fair and love and war, but the temptress seems set on tiptoeing the fine line between class and crass.

And the winner is: Blakeley

The one who got away: We’re giving it to Shawn, the soccer-playing single mom and one of the two ladies eliminated last night. We didn’t get to learn much about her, but well, she isn’t Jenna, the blogger who had multiple mental breakdowns in the span of two episodes. It was beyond time for her to go.